In many known systems, in order to obtain different speed conditions for the total travel of the speed pedal, it was necessary to have several discrete steps or gear changes in the transmission. Consequently, the operator had to shift the transmission from one gear to the other in order to obtain different speed ranges for the same given pedal travel. When a machine is being operated in a high speed range, each increment of speed pedal travel does not provide the finite speed control desired when, for example, loading a truck or some other function. In order to have the benefits of both a continuously variable transmission and a high speed range, it is beneficial to be able to have a more precise control of the machine speed at lower speeds while still maintaining the high speed capability.
The subject invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the problems as set forth above.